Charities and collaboration: an alternative to merger?
Howard Lake | 8 June 2011 | Blogs
As we’ve seen from recent reports from the Charity Commission, despite feeling the effects from the economic downturn, very few charities are considering merging. Why?
There are a number of different reasons why this might be the case. In this post I’m going to look at the role of collaboration rather than merger.
Alternative to merger?
Collaboration is an alternative to merger allowing charities to pool resources
and expertise without having to make significant adjustments across the full range of their operations. In addition, some of the more successful charity mergers have stemmed from a period of collaboration and joint working. Should a merger become desirable or an absolute necessity, this is easier to achieve with a charity partner that is already well-known.
For some charities and social enterprises, there are particular opportunities at present, perhaps allowing them to move into areas that were previously solely services by the private sector. Those opportunities may only be exploited by joining forces with another social enterprise or charity, whereas for others, it’s more a matter of strength and depth – sharing expertise and costs.
There are a variety of ways that charities or social enterprises may choose to work together. One option is an informal collaboration under an agreement to carry out services jointly, but great care is needed to demarcate risk and function.
Where more formality is desired, a joint venture company may be established in order to carry out the proposed activity. This option has the benefit of isolating the original ‘parent’ charity or social enterprise from risk so that if the venture fails, only the assets of the joint venture company are at risk, rather than the assets of the charities or social enterprises themselves. Alternatively, social franchising sees a successful delivery model being replicated through distinct, but separate, social enterprises.
Trustees are required to act prudently in the best interests of their charity at all times. This is no different when considering collaborative working and therefore the trustees of each charity must be convinced of the benefits of proceeding with the collaborative arrangements.
Before entering into a collaborative arrangement, the Charity Commission recommends that trustees:-
• Satisfy themselves that there will be adequate benefits to their users and beneficiaries.
Identify the key success factors for the collaboration, e.g. compatible activities and organisational structures and a clear definition of what each party is responsible and liable for.
• Regardless of the size and complexity of the proposed arrangement, trustees should assess the risks involved in order to ensure that these have been sufficiently addressed.
In identifying and evaluating the options available to your organisation, merger is not the only answer and collaborative working, when carefully considered and properly documented, can provide a useful alternative.
Catherine Rustomji is Head of Third Sector North, Hempsons
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.